Sabtu, 28 Januari 2012

A hand truck is a very practical aid used for moving items from one place to another easily and in very little time. You are able to load items such as furniture and cargo, stack them up on the hand truck’s frame, and transport them to wherever you need to without having to exert much effort.

To ensure the safety of your items, most hand trucks feature a cargo strap, which keeps items securely in place so that they do not move around during transport. This is also a way of making sure that these items are not damaged either in spite of the trucks movements. Here’s how to use the hand truck straps so you need not worry about your things falling off and breaking into pieces or getting damaged.

Determine the item that you need to load on the hand truck. Assess the item you need to transport. If it is a breakable item, make sure it is packaged properly. It’s easier to load, secure and transport items on a hand truck when it is boxed properly. Carefully load your items onto the hand truck. When you load any particular item on your hand truck, try to push it as far back into the truck as you can. Make sure that you keep it well balanced too. If you are loading a box, allow its backside to have contact with the back area of the truck. Although it may not be as easy with items that are not box-shaped, it is still easier to keep them balanced for as long as they are situated all the way back.

Use a moving blanket if needed. If you are transporting breakables, it’s a good idea to use fabric or something soft to add as a cushion. Simply place the moving blanket over the item you are transporting before securing with the strap. Locate the hand truck straps. There are two types of straps you can make use of, one with a buckle for fastening, and another that is simply tightened and then tied. Buckled straps are a lot easier to secure, as you simply need to tighten and adjust the strap according to the size of your item to keep it in place. Wrap the strap around the item. Place the strap around the center of the item you are transporting. To begin, get one side of the hand truck strap and move it around your item so that it is completely surrounded. Locate the buckle of the strap on the side of the truck and insert the strap into it. Adjust the strap to tighten. You can now begin to adjust the strap. Pull it as far as it can go so that your item does not have any space to wobble or move around. With boxes, keep the strap as tight as possible. For breakables, tighten as you wish but make sure that the tautness on the strap does not damage or break anything.

Do not take these straps for granted, as they are your insurance of getting all of your items to where you are taking them safely and good as new.

Selasa, 17 Januari 2012

If you’re working on a woodworking project, one of the essential materials that you will need is carpenter’s glue. How durable your wood project will be will depend a lot on how well you choose your glue, and how strong it is. Here are some of the ways to ensure that your carpenter’s glue is sufficiently tough to withstand the test of time:

Know if you need to use carpenter’s glue. Carpenter’s glue, also known as yellow glue, is very inexpensive and generally strong enough for most woodworking projects, which gives it its high popularity (over other types of wood glue such as epoxy glue and polyurethane glue). It is polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and it is non-toxic, water-resistant and highly easy to work with. You could use carpenter’s glue for most types of wood projects; however, it could be better to use other types of glue for some particular conditions. For example, if you are using lightweight wood and you want a liberal working time (meaning, you need glue that doesn’t dry up too fast), it might be better for you to use white glue. If you are working on a wood project that will spend most of its time outdoors, or a wood project that needs very, very strong glue, you might be better off using polyurethane glue. Begin with a reliable brand of carpenter’s glue. Some of the most-used brands of carpenter’s glue include Elmer’s Wood Glue and Dap.

Prepare the wood. To make sure that the glue works at its fullest efficiency, make sure that the wood you will be joining together is as smooth and clean as possible. Prep them by sanding them thoroughly and getting rid of dirt, chemicals or oils on their surfaces. Mix a bit of sawdust with the carpenter’s glue. Sawdust is a great thing to add to ordinary carpenter’s glue to make it even stronger and more durable. Collect sawdust from your woodworking projects and put them in a container. Put a bit of the carpenter’s glue that you will use into a small plate or bowl (the disposable kind will do great).Then, lightly sprinkle a bit of the sawdust into the glue. Avoid the temptation of putting in a lot! Too much sawdust will only work to make the glue weaker. Just about a half teaspoonful of the sawdust for every dollop of glue should be okay. Mix the carpenter’s glue with the sawdust thoroughly. Use a Popsicle stick for this purpose. Apply the mixture onto the wood. The best technique is to apply the glue using an even, zigzag pattern. You could use the Popsicle stick (the one that you used for mixing the glue and the sawdust) to apply the glue, or you could use a putty knife or brush. Just make sure that you spread the glue as evenly as possibly throughout the surface that you want connected, to ensure that the bond will be steady and stable. Use a vise or clamp to hold the two pieces of wood together. The clamp should remain steady until the glue manufacturer’s recommended setting time.

There you have it! These are the best ways to strengthen carpenter’s glue for your woodworking project. Working with carpenter’s glue is really pretty simple and straightforward; following these tips will ensure that you will maximize the glue’s strength, so you could produce excellent woodworking projects.

Rabu, 04 Januari 2012

In potting an orchid, the type of “home’ or container will be essential in growing healthy orchid plants. You can choose from a variety of pots with varying depths and widths. Plastic and terracotta pots are most common, each with qualities that are ideal for growing orchids.

Plastic or Terracotta? Your choice of pot material will depend on where you plan on displaying your orchid. Plastic pots are ideal for indoor usage while terracotta plants are more durable, thus better for outside use. You’ll need to know what type of orchid you’ll be growing in order to purchase a pot that is right for it. For example, some types of orchid roots grow in length while others spread out. The former will need a tall pot while the latter will need a pot with broader width. A basket is another option to hold your plant. Prepping the pot. To pot a terrestrial orchid, purchase a planter that is larger than the base of the orchid. Clean the pot by rinsing with water. Soak it a bit for a few minutes in lukewarm water before draining. Take some gravel, rocks and/or broken pots and put it at the bottom of the pot to take up 1/3 of the space. Then, take your compost and put it in as the next layer. Your compost should be shaped into the form of a cone, with the tip on the same level as the rim of the pot.

Potting your orchid. Take your orchid and gently spread the roots over your compost so that it is hugging the cone-shaped compost. Then, add more compost to cover the roots until the whole pot is filled with compost. Do not pack the compost. Let the pot fill firmly with compost but do not manually pack the pot. Fill the pot with water so that the compost is watered completely. The best kinds of pots are ones with holes so that the water drains and prevents orchid drowning. Orchids that are drowned in water tend to die quickly. The solution to this is to put crockery, or broken terracotta pots, in the bottom of the pot. More tips for newly potted orchids. Nowadays, clear pots are available in garden stores. This will help with your plant growth because the sunlight directly hits the roots, which is good for your plant growth. Do not repot your plant unless you have a good reason. A good reason includes overgrowth of roots. Some others are decaying medium, root rot, salt build-up and orchids that have outgrown their pots.

In getting into the hobby of growing orchids, do your research. Learn the types of orchids and the available potting materials. If you’ve done some research, you’ll learn that there are aerial and underground roots. Never make the mistake of trying to bury the aerial and exposing the underground. You’ll just end up killing the plant. Be a responsible plant caretaker. Don’t start growing orchids only to tire of the task and leave them to die.